Saturday Links

From Ian:

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UN scrambles to distance itself from terror tournament
The United Nations Development programme has insisted that "had no role" in a Palestinian tournament, despite organisers' claims

Despite claims by organisers that the UNDP was complicit in the sponsoring of the event, UNDP communications staff today informed The Commentator that, "The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had no role in the tournament, its naming or any other activity related to it. It was not informed about the activity in question."
However, despite the insistence, a UNDP logo was used at the event, which they say was "used without any prior authorization from UNDP".

Fayyad slams Palestinians’ history of ‘failed leadership’

“Our story is a story of failed leadership, from way early on,” Fayyad told the New York Times. “It is incredible that the fate of the Palestinian people has been in the hands of leaders so entirely casual, so guided by spur-of-the-moment decisions, without seriousness. We don’t strategize, we cut deals in a tactical way and we hold ourselves hostage to our own rhetoric.”

Fayyad denies giving interview in which he slammed Palestinian leadership

Former PA PM’s office says he didn’t speak to the New York Times; yes he did, says NYT’s Roger Cohen

Princeton University Must Fire Professor Richard Falk

It is disgraceful that many of America’s elite universities are awash with Anti-American and Anti-Israel propaganda, and Princeton University must immediately fire Richard Falk for blaming America for the terrorist attacks in Boston. There are clearly certain lines of acceptability which cannot be passed.

Douglass Murray: Why has Abdul Hakim Murad not been sacked by Cambridge University?

I know that complaining about such statements made by such a pasty-white convert only makes one a racist ‘Islamophobe.’ But oughtn’t one to be troubled by this? Were a Christian man called Timothy to have said such things he would almost certainly have been sacked by Cambridge University by now. Students, LGBT groups, unions – everyone wanting to make a stand against bigotry – would be screaming about this. But Timothy is so lucky. Because he became Abdul I think he’ll be just fine.

Honest Reporting Canada: After HRC Complaint, CBC Acknowledges Gaza “Art” Exhibit Criticized as Fraudulent

Other news outlets like Global News and the Daily Gleaner (article not online) provided a balanced perspective to the issue that acknowledged criticism that the exhibit was “propaganda” and “inauthentic” and that gave voice to concerns of the pro-Israel community.
Following our complaint, CBC Maritimes broadcast a follow up report by Melissa Oakley on April 25 which featured a contrarian point of view by pro-Israel support Israel Unger who criticized the exhibit for featuring fraudulent artwork and for the lack of balance of the exhibit; one that did not acknowledge the suffering of Israelis from thousands of rocket attacks.

Canada’s Israel Support Draws Ire From Arab Nations at UN

Qatar is working to gather votes from 115 countries to relocate the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which determines global rules for airplane transportation, from Montreal to the Middle East by 2016. In addition, Arab UN ambassadors met in New York on April 23 to discuss Palestinian issues, and discussed ways to rally support against the Canadian government among international organizations.

Is Assad winning in Syria?

Russia, Iran, its proxy Hezbollah and the Maliki government in Iraq are all playing a central role. The latest indications are that the US and the West still prefer to stay directly out of it, despite the obvious crossing of notional “red lines” regarding the use of chemical weapons.
It is thus likely that the Assad regime will be around for some time to come.

Iran’s American Prisoner

Patterns are not only evident in the Muslim world’s persecution of Christians, but in the Obama administration’s indifference. The U.S. State Department has excluded Abedini from its Iran Prisoners List—commensurate with the fact that it regularly whitewashes the sufferings of Christians under Islam, and even failed to cite Egypt and Pakistan as “nations of particular concern” despite the fact that Christians there are being hounded mercilessly, as documented in the book.

Report Shows Jews Biggest Target of Hate Speech in Turkey

Jews and Armenians are the most popular targets for hate speech in Turkish media with 25 percent of all cases, while Christians follow them at 18 percent, according to a study by the Hrant Dink Foundation.

The Israeli army’s most improbable Arab prosecutor

Lt. Arin Shaabi is a Christian, a Jew, an Arab, an Israeli. And in the military courts of the West Bank, she is fighting a rising tide of Palestinian nationalist crime

At a West Bank crossing point, Israeli students put the ‘right’ into human rights

A new volunteer group, emphatically not from the usual left of the political spectrum, is monitoring how the IDF operates the Qalandiya checkpoint en route to Jerusalem

High and mighty: a trip to the Israel Air Force Museum

From Avengers and Mirages and Spitfires to blind spots and crash landings, the aircraft on display tell the incredible tale of a young nation’s survival

Israeli team to bring hard-earned post-trauma expertise to Boston

A team from the Israel Trauma Coalition, an association of Israeli agencies specializing in post-trauma resilience, will be arriving in the Boston suburb of Watertown next week to help develop “a recovery process” for the local school system.

HBO unearth Holocaust rescue documentary

The documentary “50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr and Mrs Kraus” may bear many of the same hallmarks as other heroic stories from the Holocaust – with impossible odds and gargantuan reserves of courage – but its message remains as relevant as ever.
It tells the story of an American couple who travelled to Vienna during the war to evacuate Jewish infants at risk of persecution, and then provide them with safe passage to the United States.
The film’s director, Steven Pressman, was determined to illuminate the horrors of war but equally, to show how such extreme situations can also bring out the best in humanity.